Origins: Benanti
by shannyfish
Summary: With the agents of the DEO being investigated on their knowledge of J'onn J'onzz, we delve into the past of Agent Lara Benanti and how she was recruited. Takes place during "Manhunter". Part of the Agents of J'onzz series.
**Author's Note:** Trigger warning for self harm and abusive relationships

* * *

The stress was getting to her. It wasn't that she was worried about herself, it was more that she was worrying about how Alice would talk to Colonel Harper. That man was stuck in some other time period, though Lara knew from experience that most military men seemed to be stuck there. It was a rather sad and dangerous thing, especially when she knew that Alice wasn't exactly the most...diplomatic in her responses...especially when provoked.

"You can't come in here, Ma'am," someone stopped her.

Lara just blinked in confusion. "Why?"

"Colonel Harper's orders," the guard in military BDUs told her. "The prisoners are not to be...visited."

"I was just going to feed them… Is feeding the prisoners against orders?"

"Ma'am?"

"Director Henshaw and Agent Danvers haven't eaten all day," Lara told him. "Are you really going to let that continue? I brought them each a coffee and donut. I mean, you can inspect them if you like…" Lara shrugged as she held them out, a donut balanced perfectly on each lidded coffee cup. "It's not like I'm trying to poison my own people...especially when they're wrongly accused," she continued and turned her head to mutter, "Colonel Harper will likely get to that…"

"Ma'am?"

Benanti turned back to him with a bright smile and used her sweetest voice. "I'll tell you what, you let me go in and drop these off...and I'll bring you back a cup and a donut."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am-"

She moved incredibly close to him to whisper into his ear. "You know…I've always liked a strong man in uniform."

The poor young guard seemed to be practically stutter, but Lara didn't wait for him to say anything and just let herself in. After all, she was on a mission and she always completed her missions.

The first room she popped into, she found Agent Danvers sitting in one of the cells. Benanti just shook her head and let out a sigh. "I was expecting more of a fight," she muttered to herself, but kept a bright smile on her face.

"Benanti," Alex breathed as she moved to the glass. "What are you doing in here?"

"I wish I could say I was springing you and the boss, but just refreshments...for now at least," Lara told her. She held up one of the cups with the donut balanced on top. Reaching out skillfully, she hit the button on the control panel and hoped that the poor little guard outside didn't freak out. They might be Colonel Harper's people and followed orders, but she didn't find them especially bright...just mindless drones.

Danvers seemed amused by this, but Lara would totally break them out if it was a possibility. "Pretty sure Colonel Harper is labeling us traitors," Alex pointed out.

"I was never fond of labeling," she stated with a shrug as she moved closer and handed the caffeinated and sugar infused offerings to Danvers. "Colonel Harper seems like a sexist idiot," she said so brightly that it sounded more like a compliment. "That's a _fact_...not a label. And everyone else knows that you guys are anything _but_ traitors."

Alex took the offering and she seemed to brighten a bit. That was enough for Lara, also to be able to actually see Danvers made her a little more confident that things were going to be okay. They had to be. "Thank you."

She gave her a nod. "Just remember that the rest of us don't think the same things as that idiot colonel," Lara assured as she hit the control panel again.

The guard popped in. "Ma'am, I'm-"

Sighing dramatically, Lara headed for the door. "I was just trying to convince her to eat something!" she lied, but did so well. "Just look at how skinny she is! She could use a whole _box_ of donuts!"

The guard just looked confused. Lara just acted like he didn't exist as she moved towards the room that she knew that the boss was being held in. "Ma'am, I _really_ need to ask you to-"

"I'll just be a minute!" she practically sang as she hurried in before she could be stopped.

Lara had been prepared to see him in his true green and very large form (pictures had been circulating all over the internet), but that's not what she found. He looked exactly like the man she remembered. "Hey Boss," she greeted brightly as she moved quickly towards his cell after having hit the control panel. Her hand held the final offering and was outstretched. She was going to embrace the fact that right now, she was pretty much the DEO's morale officer, she doubted anyone would fight her for that position or for the need to have one.

"Benanti," he said in slight shock. "What the _hell_ are _you_ doing in here?! Are you _trying_ to get yourself thrown into one of these cells too?!"

She handed it to him, he seemed a little grumpy. The caffeine and sugar would help with his mood. "Yeah, so Harper's busy with Alice...so I think we're okay for the moment."

"You tell them the truth," he told her seriously.

Lara stood there thoughtfully for a moment. "What do we call you now? I mean...you're not really Hank Henshaw, right? You probably have a cooler name."

He smirked at that. "My name is J'onn J'onzz."

"See," she said with a tilt of her head. "Cooler…" Lara paused for a moment. "So, it's Director J'onzz now? We'll have to make you new cards-"

J'onn interrupted, "I'm not director anymore-"

"Ma'am-"

"Oh for crying out loud!" Lara exclaimed as she flailed her arms for a bit as she moved towards the guard. She smacked the control panel. "Can't even have a conversation for a microsecond! Geez!" she shot at the guard. As she neared the door, she held up a hand to wave back to J'onn. "Later, Director!"

* * *

"Your name for the record is Lara Benanti?" Major Lane questioned.

"Yes," she responded brightly. Alice had somehow survived her questioning without getting arrested and Colonel Harper seemed physically unharmed, so she figured that it really couldn't be _that_ bad.

"Wait," Harper spoke up with a confused face. "Are there _two_ Benantis at the DEO?"

"No, Sir," Lara replied. "There's a _Berlanti_ and then there's me...Benanti."

"But I thought Adler is married-"

" _Yes_ , she's my _wife_ ," Lara told him proudly.

The expression on Colonel Harper's face was priceless. He was both confused and shocked. She didn't understand why, it wasn't like it was something they'd hidden. It was in their files. It was a matter of record. They were married. "But that's not possible, I mean...she's a _woman_ and-"

"Equality is a _lovely_ thing, isn't it?" she commented, her tone and smile still bright. "It just baffles all the ignorant people of the world-"

"We'll get to ignorance," Harper said cutting her off.

Instead, Major Lane inserted a question. "How long have you worked at the DEO?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Probably going on three and a half to four years…"

"Who recruited you?"

"The director, though Agent Adler was there to extract me at the end with the director."

"Did you know that he was _not_ Hank Henshaw at the time?"

"No."

"Have you ever been suspicious of him in _any_ way?" Harper asked.

"No."

" _Nothing_?!"

Obviously that hadn't been the response that Harper had hoped for. Lara was going to tell the truth no matter what Colonel Harper wished she'd say. "He's done nothing suspicious, Sir. He's brought honor to the DEO, himself, and every single agent under his command. Not everyone could say the same about others, Sir," she added with a sugary sweet tone towards the end as she looked over at him.

Though Major Lane seemed fine with her answers, Colonel Harper however just seemed more fueled with rage...still. Harper grabbed her file from Major Lane. "It says here you're a fellow Marine."

"I _was_ ," Lara said, trying to stay bright and positive.

"Once a Marine, _always_ a Marine."

Lara wondered if this was his blind and stupid attempt to somehow get her to side with him, to forge some kind of weak connection. It wasn't going to work. "I'll stick with being an agent of the DEO, Sir."

"You were honorably discharged," Harper said.

"Yes, the director pushed that through a little early," Lara admitted. It was all in her file, it wasn't like she was hiding anything. Her whole life in a file, that's what it all came down to.

That only seemed to piss off Harper more. Though, to be fair, Lara was fairly sure that anyone speaking the truth and not hate was going to piss off the colonel. "What is it with _all of you_? Are you going to tell me that J'onn J'onzz _saved_ you too? Are you all lost children?"

"Maybe more like the island of misfits," she remarked quickly. She was becoming sick of Colonel Harper and his inability to act like a human being with common decency who couldn't see the truth if it were right in front of them marked as 'truth'.

"Why don't you tell us in your own words about your recruitment to the DEO?" Lucy Lane spoke up.

"It seems like a _lifetime_ ago," Lara said with a sigh. "I lived in Quantico, Virginia on base with my husband at the time and our daughter, Charlie…"

* * *

 **Three and a Half Years Before…**

The tears had dried and her tear ducts refused to produce any fresh ones. Lara just stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. The fresh bruises would have to be covered up, but not yet. She'd heard Flip call and let her superior officer that she would be late because she'd had a rough night. So, she had time. Her superior and Flip were buddies, so he believed it was nothing more than that.

Her husband had the entire base fooled into thinking that they were a picture perfect happy family. Everyone who thought that, was wrong. They didn't know about all the bruises that she covered with makeup everyday. They didn't know of any of the bruises that were left on her soul...or what any of the pain had caused her on the inside…

Grabbing a razor blade, she sliced about an inch of her own flesh on her upper arm. It was an area that she'd sliced before and that she knew she could easily cover with her shirt sleeve. A few slices before a gasp escaped her lips, it wasn't from the pain, but from the river of red that flowed down her skin. She dropped the blade into the previously pristine white sink basin. She didn't feel anything. Not anymore. When she looked back into the mirror, she didn't recognize her own reflection, but that wasn't what startled her...it was the fact that her daughter was behind her...the stark contrast between the bright happy child and her own battered face was enough to snap her out of it.

Charlie was the only thing that was good and pure and made her happy that was left in her life. Her daughter was the only reason why she was still living, why she hadn't already taken her own life. This nearly two year old angel that reminded her nothing of Flip, she was what kept her going...kept her hoping. Charlie was the best thing that she'd done in her entire life. She was a true miracle.

"Momma?"

She immediately rinsed the blood from her upper arm before grabbing a towel and pressing it against the sliced flesh. Lara moved over to her daughter, crouching down, she pulled Charlie closed. She squeezed her eyes closed and hope that her daughter never remembered any of Flip's rage or the harm he did to her. "Hey Baby," she whispered and kissed the side of her head. "Did we wake you up?"

"Daddy mad."

From the mouth of a nearly two year old. Lara just nodded. Charlie wasn't wrong at all and she wasn't really sure how to respond to that. She couldn't deny it, Charlie was telling nothing but the truth. "How about you and I eat strawberries and Nutella on toast?"

Charlie's face lit up at that, but before either of them could say anything, there was a knock at the door. She wasn't expecting anyone and she swore that no matter how loud things got between her and Flip, no one ever came to check to ensure that things were okay. She'd always chalked it up to the fact that she was a Marine, too, it would be different if she were civilian. Flip had told her months before that they'd beat down a fellow officer for hitting his wife...and it had only been one time and not nearly as bad as her face currently looked.

Normally, she would have rushed to push on makeup, but not today. Sometimes it was too hard to continue the hiding, it was simply tiring. Picking up Charlie, she held her daughter on her hip as she walked to the door. She peeked through the curtain at the window by the door before finally opening the door.

The man was dressed in a black suit, someone she didn't recognize. It was extremely rare for someone to show up at their doorstep who wasn't military and especially someone who they didn't know. Holding onto the door with her free hand, she waited a beat. "Can I help you?" she finally asked.

"Is this the Benanti residence?"

"Yes," she said slowly. "Who are you?"

"My name is Hank Henshaw and I was hoping that I could talk to you."

"You want to talk to _me_?" Lara asked, confused.

"I want to make you an offer."

"What _kind_ of an offer?"

"A _job_ offer."

"I _have_ a job."

"If you'd hear me out at least?" Henshaw requested as he held up his badge. "I've done a lot of research on you and I think that you would be the perfect addition to my unit."

"I-"

"Please?"

The first thing that came to mind was that Flip wouldn't approve and he'd definitely not want to move. In that moment, that truth fueled her. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to listen...as long as you don't mind me making breakfast while you talk."

"Not at all."

It didn't scare Lara to have a man that she didn't know in the house, mainly because she was fairly confident in her abilities to defend herself and her daughter. This man, Hank Henshaw, though seemed genuine. He waited for her to finish with the toasts and set them on the table and then having Charlie started on her own piece.

"You're bleeding," he commented as he motioned to the blood that seemed to still be running down her arm.

She'd forgotten about that.

"It doesn't hurt," she defended quietly with a shrug.

"And the bruises?"

"That's not why you're here, though," Lara told him firmly.

He gave a nod. "You're right." He waited a beat. "Where's your first aid kit?"

"Bathroom closet."

"At least let me clean the arm up while I give you the recruitment speech?"

Lara just nodded. "It's-"

"I saw it when I came in," he told her politely as he got to his feet and disappeared for a moment. He moved his chair when he came back and went right to work. "I work for an organization that doesn't exist to the rest of the world."

"What does it do?"

"The DEO keeps the world safe from alien threats," Henshaw told her as he worked on cleaning and patching her arm. "I've read your file, I've seen your reports...the reviews from your superiors...you rose quickly up until right after you got married," he commented. Lara knew that as well. That wasn't new to her, but she was surprised that he'd connected the dots. That had been when Flip had first started in on her. She'd been promoted to a higher rank and he had been pissed about it and had gone on about how she'd done it on purpose to emasculate him. There had never been any celebration in her hard work. "Your job in communications has been superb and I could really use you...if you're willing...to work with my unit." He paused again as he finished with a pair of band-aids on her upper arm. "It would require you and your daughter to move…"

Lara blinked for a moment and then turned to look at her daughter, her face now covered in Nutella as she happily ate a sliced strawberry. "Where?"

"California," he told her. "Most of my people live in National City."

She just thought about that for a moment. How would that work? Obviously, Flip wasn't going to go for that and-

"I can help you," Henshaw told her. "I know that the bruises...they're not from falling… I know it's your husband." That caught her attention and her head whipped back around to stare at him wide eyed. For the first time in over three years...someone realized that she was being hurt by her husband. "I will make the arrangements you to be honorably discharged from the military. That is easily done. I can even assist in your separation from your husband and ensuring that you have custody of your daughter…"

It was like he was the only one in the world who could actually see her and what had been happening in her life. "I-"

"Think about it," he insisted before handing her a card. "I can have another agent here with me to extract you and get you and your daughter to safety. We can set up temporary housing for you both in National City. It would be quick." He stood and stared down at her. "It's up to you, Lara. Think about your daughter… What world do you want her to grow up in? Think of yourself. You deserve _so much_ better than this…"

How did she respond to that?

"Call me… I can be here in a matter of hours."

"If I _agreed_...you're certain that you could do everything you say?" she asked. Lara was considering it. Pain was nothing, she could endure it...but losing her daughter...that was something that she knew that she wouldn't survive. Charlie was the most important thing in her life and she refused to put her daughter in danger.

He gave a nod. "I _promise_ , but...you're going to have to file a report on what your husband has done. You'll do it safely...away from here. I promise you."

Lara just stared at him, unable to really know if she could do it in that moment.

"I'll be waiting to hear from you," he told her. Henshaw smiled over at Charlie. "I'll be seeing both of you very soon."

He let himself out and she just sat there...staring at the card.

She couldn't do it.

As much as she wanted to, she knew that she couldn't.

* * *

 **Still Three and a Half Years Before…**

 **Later that night…**

"Tell me who this Henshaw is! Why do you have his card?! Who have you been talking to?!"

The screaming she could take. It rolled off of her, but Charlie's screams amongst it all and her trying to get to Lara and Flip purposely keeping them separated just wasn't helping matters. Normally, she could remain calm and collected, but not now… Charlie was so small and her screams were hysterical. All Lara could think was that her daughter was going to get hurt...and if somehow she didn't, then she'd end up with her face completely broken out from all the crying and she'd be throwing up. She knew her daughter and she knew what would happen if this continued.

She couldn't tell Flip who Henshaw was and the business card that she'd been given had been blank except for Henshaw's name and phone number. The fact that there was no information only seemed to further piss off Flip. The truth of Henshaw's identity and what he had wanted...what he had offered...that would send him into even more of a rage.

So, she did all she could do...instincts kicking in...Lara pushed her way past Flip and towards her screaming child. Charlie was screaming for her, her face red-

Her only thoughts had been for Charlie's safety, but then she was flung across the room. She hadn't been alert enough. She hadn't been expecting that, but she _knew_ that she _should_ have expected it. The wind was knocked out of her and her back cried out in pain. Lara didn't stop though, she got back up and she went after Flip. She decided right then and there, she wasn't going to let Flip hurt her or Charlie again-

There was a knock at the door.

On any other day, Lara would have been so thankful that someone had actually seemingly come to check on them...on her...on Charlie, but not today. She couldn't rely on anyone else, she knew that. In that moment, as she pushed herself up to her feet, she knew that she had to be the one to make sure that Charlie was protected...and she knew that she should have accepted Henshaw's offer earlier that day. She should have packed a bag, grabbed Charlie, and left with him. As Lara went hand to hand with her husband, her full fury and concentration on every move, she reminded him that he wasn't the only Marine.

Even though she managed to kick Flip away and make her way towards Charlie, she felt herself being grabbed by her hair and yanked backward only to hear the door being kicked in. She turned and saw people filing in, the look on Flip's face, and took that as her moment to kick him towards the people at the door while she scrambled towards Charlie.

"Shhh," she whispered as she held Charlie tight and rocked her. "Momma's here…"

"Major Benanti?"

She looked over after a minute to see that Henshaw was there. He'd come back for her. He wasn't alone. There were MPs along with a woman dressed all in black that was standing with Henshaw. "I'm ready," she told him firmly.

"Let's get you out of here," Henshaw said.

"No."

He just stared at her for a long time.

"I'll do my report now...here…" she said. "They'll need to take pictures...do an exam… It's best to do it as early as possible, right?"

All Lara knew in that moment was that Charlie had to be protected. No matter how hard it was going to be for Lara, she had to keep her daughter protected and safe. Holding onto Charlie, she just kept dropping kisses and whispered comforting things. Her daughter's little fingers were curled into Lara's shirt and didn't seem like she'd be letting go.

"Right."

* * *

"So, you and your husband went at it," Harper said as he shrugged it off. He acted like what she'd just said was nothing, like it happened to everyone. "Just because J'onn J'onzz knocked down a door-"

"Colonel-"

"I mean, we only know _one side_ of the story-"

That was enough for Lara and nothing Lucy was saying was breaking through the colonel's ugly words. Still attached to the leads, Benanti got up from her seat and pressed the colonel against the wall, her hand on his throat. She'd been afraid that Alice would be the one who snapped, but here she was...unable to deal with his bullshit a moment longer. "You know _nothing_ , Colonel Harper," she spat. "Nothing of my life! Of what I endured! Of how many times I thought about ending it all! Of how many times I thought that it was going to be my last breath before I passed out with my husband looming over me! Of feeling like no one on Earth cared if I lived or died! So, if you think that J'onn J'onzz showing up and offering me a place at the DEO is considered life changing then you're _damn right_! Someone changes your life... _saves you_... _saves your daughter_... _you remember them_ …"

Lucy's hand was on her shoulder and Lara backed off, her eyes never leaving Harper's. "I think we've had enough, haven't we, Colonel?" Major Lane questioned, her voice icy and commanding.

He only looked more pissed.

" _Fine_ ," he spat angrily.

This wasn't going to end well.

Not for any of them.

As she yanked off the leads, she moved backwards, her eyes only leaving Harper long enough to glance at the screen recording the polygraph data. Her line was steady. She smirked at that. That was because of J'onn J'onzz. Just another thing that she knew she owed to her boss.

* * *

 **Three and a Half Years Before…**

National City wasn't what she'd expected, but maybe that was because of the window she was looking out of and the fact that she was exhausted. She'd been left with Agent Adler, the woman who had been there with Henshaw when they'd busted the door in. The woman seemed icy and altogether not very pleased about anything that was going on.

"I'm sorry that we're crashing-"

"It's fine," Adler brushed off evenly.

"No-"

"Honestly, it's fine," Adler insisted. "The boss said that it's just going to be a couple of days… We'll get you situated some place close...set everything up."

"I know you have to feel like you're babysitting-"

"I hate babysitting."

"I can take care of myself," Lara told her firmly, though even in that moment she didn't believe herself.

Adler just stared at her.

"What do I call you?"

" _Agent Adler_ ," she responded. "Or Adler."

"You _have_ to have a _first_ name."

Her request seemed to be trying to the other woman. Adler sighed, almost overly dramatically and rolled her eyes. "Alice."

"Lara," she said as she held out a hand. For a moment, she thought that she was going to be met with another sigh and eyeroll, but the other woman shook her hand. "Thank you, Alice."

"I just hope that your kid doesn't scream...and that you're as skilled as the boss says…"

Lara smirked. "She's not an _infant_ -" As if on cue, Charlie was crying and then calling for her. Sighing, she shook her head and defensively put out there. "She doesn't _normally_ cry. She's just confused, I'm sure," Lara said as she moved towards the bedroom. "She's been through a lot today."

"I knew I should have let Harewood volunteer for this one."

* * *

"You okay?"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

Lara looked over at Alice. She'd gone to the locker room and was sitting on one of the benches in front of the row of lockers. She knew that it wouldn't be long until Alice found her, but she felt like she'd done everything wrong in that moment...that moment that she should have stayed cool. Tears filled her eyes. "He's going to court martial me…"

"You're not military anymore, Love," Alice pointed out as she sat down next to her. "Tell me what happened."

"I couldn't take his...his…"

"His _assholery_?"

"Did you just make up that word?"

Adler shrugged. "I looked up Colonel Harper's name...and right there it was used in a sentence to explain him…"

She couldn't help but smile at that and let out a short almost snort of a laugh. "I told them everything… They wanted to know about when I was recruited and-"

"And Harper pushed buttons…" Adler said with a sigh before putting her arm around her wife.

Lara let the tears fall. "He acted like it was _my fault_ …"

"You know that's _not true_ …"

"It's been _years_...and in that moment, I just _snapped_."

" _Why_?"

Their eyes met and Lara thought about it for a long moment. "The same reason why I went after Flip right before you guys came through the door... _he was threatening my family_." It was like clarity hit her hard in that moment.

They always said that the DEO was their family.

Lara Benanti hadn't realized how true it was until that moment. How she'd give anything for J'onn J'onzz...and for any other agent. They'd defend each other until their last dying breath. "Alice, we can't let them take him or Danvers…"

"We're not," Alice told her. "But right now, let's get home to our girl…"

"What if-"

Alice leaned in, her hand cupping her head, and she kissed her. Lara tensed at first, not expecting that...not at work. They'd made a deal long ago that they'd be professional at work, no displays of public affection...well, not kissing. Hugging and just general small touches of comfort...sometimes those were necessary with what they did. She relaxed and allowed herself to melt into it. When the kiss ended, she just stared at Alice.

"Do you remember your first mission in the field?" Alice asked. "I thought that was the worst plan that the boss had ever had...and you proved us all wrong… I know exactly how far you'll go...but you're not in this alone. We're in this together...and we have family behind us. Our family isn't going to just stand idly by while Colonel Harper takes the director and Danvers to this Cadmus place…"

"I hope you're right."

"Have faith."

"I do, but Harper might be worse than any alien threat we've faced."

"He's practically an Ambler…"

Lara just smiled and shook her head at that imagery. "Okay, let's go home…"

* * *

 **Three and a Half Years Ago…**

No one wanted her there.

In fact, Lara didn't even _want_ to be there.

"I can't believe I'm _still_ babysitting you," Adler remarked.

Lara just rolled her eyes. The other woman really didn't like her, she especially didn't like the fact that a week later...she and Charlie were still crashing at Adler's place. This wasn't supposed to be happening, though, she wasn't supposed to be out there in the field. There was special combat training that Henshaw was putting her through, but she hadn't even gotten through that yet. That said, she knew that normally she would be within the safety of the DEO cave and wouldn't really have to worry about aliens trying to kill her.

Today, though, required her to be in the field.

They had dragged her out into the field because not only had she been a communications officer during her stint in the Marines, but she'd excelled at it. She'd done nearly everything, which included installation (and repair...Lara had always thought that it was imperative for her to know as much as she could). "I can't believe that I've only been out of the Marines for about a week and here I am...working on Marine communications equipment."

"We can't allow the Marines in this sector until we've captured the alien sighted and are able to clear the area," Adler said. It was clear that she _really_ didn't want to be there.

Director Henshaw was out there with three other agents and he'd left Adler and two other agents behind to watch over her as she worked (and none of them seemed pleased to be babysitting). She'd been there a week and though she'd already fallen in love with the DEO's version of her work station along with the fact that she hadn't sustained any new bruises (outside of the ones that came from sparring with Henshaw).

"Believe me, I'm doing this as _quickly_ as I can," Lara told them all as she worked.

The radio chirped to life. "Adler, we need backup," Henshaw said before relaying their position.

Taking her eyes away from what she was doing for a moment, Lara watched as Adler seemed to contemplate what to do. "I don't _need_ a babysitter," she told the other woman.

"This is the _first time_ you've been in the field-"

"Maybe with aliens, but I was deployed overseas before I came to the DEO. I _swear_ I can handle myself."

Adler just stared at her. "Alien threats aren't the same as insurgents-"

Lara couldn't believe they were arguing about this. "You're wasting time! _Go_!"

"Henshaw couldn't have recruited her and brought her into the the field if she was really a liability," one of the other agents stated.

He was right.

Lara Benanti was good at her job and she had a daughter who needed her. She wasn't about to do something stupid or something that would get her killed. When they finally left, she huffed out a breath and turned her attention back to her work.

They'd been gone for a while and Lara found that she was nearly finished. It was then that she heard it. A chirping-croaking sound that seemed to start on her left and crescendo as it moved to the right. Turning her attention to her surroundings, she took hold of her weapon. As she scanned the landscape, she saw nothing. The noise, however, just got louder. It was then that she realized that she was surrounded and outnumbered.

* * *

 **Three and a Half Years Earlier…**

 **Fifteen Minutes Later…**

It had been seven minutes.

The Marines communications equipment was repaired.

She just sat there, waiting...drinking a bottle of water.

Suddenly Henshaw, Adler, and the others came barreling in guns ablazing. Lara just stared at them all. "It's _fixed_...what took so long?"

"Are you fucking serious?" Adler said as she lowered her gun and looked around.

"What?"

"What the hell are those things?"

"I was thinking that they're like a cross between compies and pygmies," Lara told them with a shrug. All she could think of where those tiny dinosaurs from 'Jurassic Park: The Lost World' crossed with the creepy pygmy things from 'The Mummy Returns'. "I mean, there are like twelve of them...and I mean...those teeth… Do these things have names? I mean, they're aliens, right? They have to be. They don't look like they could be some kind of weird rodent species that I didn't know about and if they were...I was totally doing someone a favor in ending their existences…"

"Haven't ever seen them before," Henshaw muttered, his hands now on his hips.

She watched as Adler investigated one of them. "You took all of them down by yourself?" the agent questioned as she looked over to Lara.

Shrugging, Lara wasn't sure why that was so hard to believe.

"You know...I might just put you out into the field," Henshaw said.

" _Seriously_?" Adler and Benanti exclaimed in unison.

* * *

For the first time in a long time, Charlie didn't sleep in her own bed. Lara knew that it wasn't necessary, her daughter wasn't going anywhere and they'd worked so hard to get Charlie used to sleeping in her own room and in her own bed...but she couldn't help it. Memories of the past had shaken her up a bit. So, there they laid all three in pajamas curled up together.

"You need to sleep," Alice whispered to her.

"I know," Lara whispered back as she pressed another kiss into Charlie's hair, taking in the scent of her strawberry shampoo.

"She's not going anywhere," Alice reminded. "You know that."

And she did.

That didn't make it easier though.

"You think this is silly?"

"No," came a whisper. "Even though it was a lifetime ago, it the grand scheme of things...it really wasn't that long ago. I just wanted to remind you that Flip isn't going to hurt you or take Charlie."

Flip wasn't someone that had been brought up for a while even though sometimes Lara would still have nightmares about him, it would normally involve him trying to kidnap Charlie or harming the both of them. There were restraining orders in place and she knew that he'd have to get past her and Alice to take Charlie...and legally Charlie wasn't his anymore...he had no rights. Then there was the fact that they had all of the support of the DEO.

"I know...but it feels like yesterday that she was so tiny...and you and I didn't really like each other that much," Lara reminded as she turned to look at her wife. "Though, I don't know that I would even recognize those versions of ourselves…"

A chuckle bubbled out of Alice as she reached out and cupped Lara's cheek. "We're better people now...we make each other better...and Charlie...she makes us both better… She is the reason why we keep doing the job, she's the future we want to build towards…" She leaned in and kissed her. "Don't worry, Love...tomorrow's going to be a brighter day."

"Go sleep," Charlie mumbled.

They both laughed, but settled back into place, Lara pulling Charlie close and Alice's arm wrapped around her. This was her favorite thing...her favorite place...her favorite people… No matter what would come as far as Harper was concerned, one thing was certain, they would go forward as a family. The thing was, this wasn't the extent of their family…

"Sleep, Love...or else I'll have to sing."

Lara just laughed at that. "What will you sing me?"

"Take my love, take my land-"

Lara just laughed harder at that. It wasn't just that it was 'The Ballad of Serenity' because this was a song that they all knew and sang from time to time, but the harsh way that Alice was semi belting it out was what had made her life. "That's not going to help me sleep…"

"I can't sing that broadway crap you like to sing in the kitchen," Alice told her honestly.

She knew this and Lara just smiled as she held Charlie there in bed. "Mother cannot guide you...now you're on your own...only me beside you...still you're not alone...no one is alone... _truly_ , no one is alone…"

None of them were alone.

* * *

The End.


End file.
